Who Should Hit #2 for the Los Angeles Dodgers?
James Loney, yes James Loney should be our #2 hitter. I know he’s not a trendy pick but really who else? Kemp strikes out too much, Ethier is better off in the middle of the order, Casey Blake shouldn’t even be a consideration but he is, according to Don Mattingly (and I just came him such glaring praise too).
Mattingly said he’s still thinking about Casey Blake as a No. 2 hitter behind leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal. That would likely mean James Loney following Kemp, with Uribe sixth, the left-field platoon of Marcus Thames/Jay Gibbons seventh and the catching platoon of Rod Barajas/Dioner Navarro eighth.
So, why Loney you say? Why it’s elementary my dear Watson. Rafael Furcal is good at getting on base right? .366 OBP last year and .351 for his career. Well, James Loney is good at hitting when men are on base, but you say, he hits into a lot of double plays! Yes, he did but that was 2 years ago he had 24 GIDP last year he only had 14 but that happens when a guy gets a lot of contact and doesn’t strike out or walk a lot as Loney did in 2008.Want some stats to back it up? Well, over all Loney hit .266 right? Well when men were on base (1st, 2nd, 3rd, wherever) he hit an amazing .316, a full 50 points above his batting average! While without men on base, he hit .222. Breaking it down, he hit .327 with men in scoring position (2nd and 3rd) dividing that, he hit .297 with men on 1st, that’s still 31 points better than when he has nobody on base.
So it’s easy to see Loney is at his best when he has men on base, so he makes a horrible lead off guy but a perfect 2-6 guy and he doesn’t really have the power to bat 3rd, 4th or 5th even if he has the RBI acumen. He has a good eye, almost always makes solid contact and he knows how to put the ball where he wants to in play so he makes a great guy if you want to do a hit and run, much better than Don’s idea Casey Blake who is a swinger.
So Don, do it! Be brave! Put James Loney 2nd, its’ the best thing to do and heck, who else you got?
I think I like Don Mattingly
Ok, so I wasn’t so sure about Don Mattingly (or Matts as I like to call him) but he’s growing on me. He’s already shown a fire, a wisdom and a hunger that I didn’t see Torre or any of the previous Dodger managers after Tommy Lasorda have and it’s quite refreshing. Take this for example; on ESPN there’s a story that talks about him stepping into the batters box when pitchers, especially those vying for roster spots pitch in the bullpen so he can get a better look at their stuff, who does that? Or the fact that he’s opting with Clayton Kershaw as the opening day starter makes me like him over Joe “I love old players” Torre who started Vicente Padilla last season over Kershaw or even Billingsley, heck Kuroda would’ve been a better option.
I think the Dodgers will be the surprise team next year, don’t sleep on Matts, he’s got a good head on his shoulders and he respects his players, even the young ones. They already love him and are excited to play for him next year, and I’m excited to see him as well. If he works out as well as I’m hoping, then bringing Joe Torre here just so we can get Don Mattingly as our next manager was so totally worth it.
My Favorite Dodger: Matt Kemp
Matt Kemp is my favorite Dodger, that’s easy enough to tell. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve seen me say that he’s my favorite, I’ve even written a story or two about him but I’ve never said why. Well, the reason’s are kinda self-centered in a way but also kinda funny. It’s not because he’s good looking, or mega talented, it’s because I believe Matt Kemp is my baseball doppelganger.
You see, I love baseball, a lot. I practically worshiped it as a religion through my teenage years, I collected cards, and made baseball mini All Star teams out of them and I’d play games with a pen and a rolled up piece of tin foil, which works better than a rolled up piece of paper, much better smack to it, paper just goes thwop and doesn’t go very far, in order to get the true feeling of a home-run, I had to have something better, I later found out a rubber band within the foil was best. I also made imaginary teams, sitting in class on a piece of paper (i ruined a lot of paper like this) and i’d make a line up with stats, names etc and that’d be it. I’d have all 8 positions, a starting pitching staff, relievers, bench, etc, I was obsessed.
So, I say all that to say that when I got a chance to play I was excited. I started off horribly I didn’t get a hit my whole first season of baseball and I was a horrible fielder at that but I was a pretty good pitcher (my favorite pitcher was Roger Clemens, Roger Clemens MVP baseball <3 <3 <3). Then in my second season through the first half i was no better but I finally got a hit in my 7th game and after that, I was a machine! After that year I had some confidence and played about 3-4 more years of Pee Wee baseball before grades derailed me in my pursuits for the majors, I had the talent but not the focus, which brings me back to Matt Kemp and why I believe he’s my doppelganger.
In my final season, which was one of my more memorable and enjoyable, I wore the number 27, sound familiar? I also played RF, just how Kemp started off and which I believe is his best position, not CF. I was also a 5 tool player, I had speed (no CS’s over all my seasons and one pick off, thanks mom) power, had a great arm, good range, ok glove (when I focused…) and I got on base. I also struck out, a lot. I had issues with focus (getting the picture here?) but when I was on, I was on and I was scary good. You couldn’t get me out, so you’d walk me, but if you walked me, I’d steal 2nd base, then I’d steal 3rd, so what do you do? So, sometimes I see a lot of who I was (and could’ve become) in Matt Kemp and feel a connection, especially since he wears my favorite number.
So, yes that’s my crazy reason for being a such a big Kemp fan and why he disappoints me so. I see a lot of potential in him and I believe he can be greater, if he really wants to. I really feel this season is his coming out party, he’ll get that 30-30, and hit .300 and drive in over 100 RBI’s, make the all star game and become a fan favorite (all while walking about 50 times and striking out 150). So give Matty sometime, maybe he’ll be your favorite too.
Random Dodger News & My Thoughts on Public Ownership
So while things have been funky, we’ve got some news that I’ve missed, so let’s catch up.
Michael Young won’t be a Dodger unless the Rangers absorb at least $36 mil of the $48 mil owed him over the next 3 years.
That amount to $12 per year of the $16 he’s schedule to make over the next 3 seasons, while the Dodgers only pay four. I don’t think the Rangers really feel like they need to move Young that bad, so that’s a no go. I had a feeling the Dodgers wouldn’t pony up the money, this is what happens when you got a broke owner, who is actually in debt, Selig save us!
Also, according to Buster Olney on ESPN (via MLB Trade Rumors), McCourt is looking for an influx of cash, without letting anyone buy into the team but he wants others to invest in it. Good luck idiot. This is why I feel some sports teams need to be publicly owned, more on that later.
Next, The Dodgers have signed another washed up pitcher, Juan Rincon, to a minor league contract. This one comes without a spring training invite, and I don’t expect him to even sniff the majors. He wasn’t that good as a major leaguer before, having 3 good seasons but sandwiching those years, he was absolutely horrible.
The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with James Loney for $4.875m. Kim Ng I believe is still batting 1.000 when it comes to arbitration since she’s been in charge. She has yet to allow a player to go in front of an arbitration hearing.
So, back to my feeling about public ownership, if the Dodgers were publicly owned , how long ago do you think Frank McCourt would’ve been replaced as the owner aka CEO of the Dodgers, especially after finding out how horribly he’s managed the finances? I think as early as a year or two ago, he’d definitely be gone now.
A publicly ran team could have a board who oversees things, a CEO, a CFO, and be ran much like a corporation, meaning that if you have a share, you have a say in the team, how awesome would that be as a Dodger fan? When we say “we” we could really mean “we” cuz it’s my team, I’m not just washing them, paying for the ticket, I have actually invested not only time but money in that team. I think the City of Angles is ripe for such a venture. The money in LA is enormous and Dodger fans span the globe. Just looking out in the stands there are a lot of monied people, it’s why McCourt put so much effort into the luxury boxes a couple years ago.
To cap it off, a publicly owned Dodgers could draw in so much more money than from ticket sales but from people investing in the team, much more than any one person could or would put into a team. Just look at the Packers as a great example, why do you think their fan base is so rabid, they own the team! So, hopefully when the Dodgers are “split” between the two “McCourts” that the next option for a smart owner is to keep a majority share in the team, yet allow us to buy into it, I’m down for it, how about you?
Michael Young…Los Angeles Dodgers Third-Baseman?
Yes it’s possible because Michael Young is requesting a trade and one of the teams he’s requested to be moved to are the Dodgers.
The 6 time All Star is sick of the way that the Rangers have been treating him and wants to get out of there. The great thing about him is he can play 2B, SS, 3B and probably even 1B, giving any team that he goes to a lot of flexibility.
So, the reason it seems he wants to be traded is the way that he’s been “pushed around” the field. He started his career as a 2B and then moved to SS to accommodate Alfonso Soriano in 2004 and stayed there because of a young Ian Kinsler. Then in 2009 Texas moved him 3B to facilitate the move of a young Elvis Andrus to SS. Then they told him this off-season that he’d be their DH and he was cool with that but the final straw was when the Rangers then traded for Mike Napoli and told Young that he’d be a super sub, filling in at several positions and I’ll speculate here, Big Mike wants to start!
So I guess the question is, would he have the chance to start here in Los Angeles? I don’t see why not. He hit 20+ HR’s his last two years, is a consistent high batting average (career .300 even) and he even won a batting championship in 2005 while leading the league in hits. He hit .284 last year and .322 the year before. He consistently has 35+ 2B’s every season, plays at least 150 games except for two seasons, his rookie and 2009, drives in runs and plays good defense. He may not be a great hitter, great fielder or great at anything but he’s a good solid all around player, a club house influence and a great guy. I’d love to see him in Dodger blue and I feel a player of his caliber would really help this line up.
The only problem I foresee is he’s owed $48 mil over the next 3 seasons and he’ll be 36 in his final season, so I’m sure any team that trades for him, will more than likely ask for some if not most of his salary to be picked up by the Rangers. Thats why I don’t know if the Dodgers will make this trade. They’re already hurtin for cash, with Frank McCourt borrowing money from Fox to cover expenses so I don’t know, but if Ned can somehow pull this off, maybe, just maybe I won’t kick him next time I see him on the street, I may even give him eye contact.
